Two Second Difference
by thesmokelives
Summary: Set after Lies- an 18 year old girl is thrown into the FAYZ during Mary's Big Jump. John is losing it at the Daycare without her. Brianna is helping out, though she has Dekka on her mind. And one little boy's attempt at helping Brittany goes very wrong.
1. AN: Before reading

**BEFORE READING:** This story jumps perspectives a lot (like the original series), and I get that most people use bolds or italics to represent who is speaking. However, I think it's pretty obvious in mine, though I have started bolding every other POV. For example, if It goes:

POV 1

**POV 2**

POV 3

It does not mean that one and three are the same person. Use common sense. It usually says whose perspective it is within the first sentence or so. Review, please!

**ALSO:** If anyone is interested, I have made GONE wallpapers that are nifty (by my standards). If you want one, PM me. Right now I have Drake, Caine, Diana, Orc, Astrid/Little Pete, and Edilio. But it only takes me like half an hour to make one, so if you tell me who you want, I can just make one and email it to you. :P


	2. Two Second Difference

_**AN: Okay, so for the first few chapters, it's going to be very short and jumpy as I try to get a lot of perspectives out all at once. Sorry if it seems kind of thrown together, as that is not my intent. Please review. Really. It honestly makes my day, because I don't have a life. **___

One minute Lillian was leaning against the Eggshell, crying from a mixture of blinding pain, and another kind of pain she wasn't ready to explore. The next, she was on the pavement, the pain magically gone.

Everyone gone.

She was on the highway, but not where she had been leaning only seconds before. Now the Eggshell was concave, reaching upward to the sky in its normal, impenetrable fashion. She let out a small whimper as she realized her reality. The Eggshell had cracked—maybe only for a second—but cracked nonetheless. Now Lil was on the other side, trapped in the hellhole she had only heard about in rumours and speculation. But as she sat on the ground, rubbing the cheek she had scraped from landing on the highway, she saw no signs of human life. A few squirrels ran here and there, but otherwise, Lil was alone. It made sense, she thought, as she began walking down the road. She wasn't anywhere near Perdido Beach, even when she was on the other side of the Eggshell. She was on the opposite side, where her mother and Lil had been when the Eggshell came into being. Her father and younger sister were at home, in Perdido Beach.

They had never found her father.

But now, inside the Eggshell, 18 year old Lil had a rare chance: to find her sister before… Before what? Lil wasn't sure she knew the answer, and a small part of her didn't want to. Instead, she immediately headed down the highway, where she knew she would find Perdido Beach, and, she hoped, her sister.

**Diana flopped on the ground, wailing a strange combination of coughing, laughing, and strangled cries. Caine ran towards her, but not desperately. He ran like someone who was angry, determined. Diana didn't care. She didn't care about anything anymore. When she had stepped back on the cliff face—accidentally—for a moment she was happy. So, so blissfully happy. Now it was over. She wouldn't die. She wouldn't get that privilege. But she had accomplished something: Sanjit and his siblings had gotten away. How long they would survive in that helicopter, Diana didn't know, but it wasn't her problem anymore.**

**"DIANA!" Caine screamed, finally reaching her. He grabbed her shirt collar and yanked her upright, ripping the shirt just a bit. She stared at the ground blankly. She was broken.**

**"Don't you do that again! You stupid bitch! Forget it, I don't have anything else to say. We're going back to the house." He pushed her in front of him. "You walk ahead. Jesus, Diana, out of all the people I couldn't trust, I didn't think I would have to deal with this from you."**

**Diana smirked to herself, thinking how funny it was that Caine was going through all of this trouble to **_**stop**_** someone from dying.**

John Terrefino was at his wit's end. Without Mary, he had taken on most of the work at the daycare, and things were not going well. Most of the time he glazed over, not paying attention to the children screaming for Mother Mary, screaming for their own mothers.

He had his own Mary he was screaming for.

He knew, deep down, that she was dead. Emma and Anna too. Francis. Everyone who had poofed. But his brain wouldn't process that. If it did, he would be a million times more insane than he already was. Glazing over was his only way to cope. Sam came over from time to time, but to be honest, he wasn't much help. Sam was a leader, not a babysitter. And the few meagre supplies he was able to drop off were almost not worth the horrible, pitying look he always had in his eyes when he looked at him.

Things were falling apart for John, and he knew it. The numbers at the daycare had gone from 40 to about 18 later in the week, as children realised they could find better care elsewhere. The only children left were the infants; little children under age 2. John was thankful deep down. He couldn't even handle the few children he had anymore. The children were hungry, crying, dirty, sad, screaming…

John stood up, and without looking around the room, he walked out of the daycare.

And just kept walking.


	3. Contemplation

Lil had been walking for hours, with no sign of anything. No houses, no people. Luckily, she had found a half-demolished car wrapped around a telephone pole, and the driver—who probably no longer existed—had been drinking a bottle of water before he or she disappeared. It was two thirds full, Lil noted, which would be important. She knew she had to ration water, but it was already so hot, and she was so thirsty.

As she was leaving the car, her shoe snagged on something, and she almost did another face plant into the highway. Looking back to her shoe, she noticed half of her shoelace was missing. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where it had gone. Her shoelace was in the Eggshell, probably a small part of it sticking out on the other side. Lil shuddered as she contemplated what would have become of her if the Eggshell had flickered back to life a millisecond sooner. And, for the first time, Lil thought of her mother. She felt a stab of guilt that it had taken her this long. She had already lost her husband, and hadn't seen her youngest daughter in over half a year. People on the other side had been losing hope for ages. Lil was now part of only a small group of a dozen or so people—her mother included—who still went to the Eggshell. Still prayed. Still hoped.

Lil couldn't focus on that for too long. Not with the job ahead of her. Nobody really knew what had happened inside of the Eggshell, but she had read _Lord of the Flies_. She could guess. Some media personnel had tried to pretend that the human spirit was better than that. That people, especially children, would never result to things like drugs, murder, cannibalism.

Lil knew better and deep down, she knew they did too.

As for the adults who were in the Eggshell, nobody knew what happened to them. They knew they weren't inside. When it had been created, all of the adults had appeared on the outside for about two seconds. Then, they flickered, and disappeared.

Lil hadn't seen her father that day. She was glad she didn't. All she saw was the media footage. People who had happened to have cameras on hand captured shaky, low-quality images of the adults—and in some cases, teenagers—who had vanished. Lil wouldn't have wanted to see that. The brief glimmer of hope that maybe her father was okay.

Then, poof.

No more dad.

Yes, Lil thought, thank God I didn't have to see that.

But for now, the task at hand was her sister, Brianna. She was twelve, and that was what Lil had to keep telling herself. The oldest person inside the Eggshell was about 15 or 16, so Brianna was on the higher end when it came to age. But Lil had a stronger advantage. She was 18. The oldest. Legally an adult. She hoped that would work in her favour.

**"Kill me… please… just do it."**

**"Brittany, you know we can't do that." Sam begged. He was running out of options. The kids of Perdido Beach were angry. They knew Brittany was contained, that she couldn't hurt them.**

**But it wasn't Brittany they were worried about.**

**They had rallied outside of town hall, screaming for justice. Screaming for Brittany, and the psychopath Drake, to both be killed. To be burned until they could not be burned anymore. It had become so much that Sam was spending just as much time preventing people from breaking into Brittany's cell as he was contemplating what to do about her. He went outside, where Edilio was waiting with a golf cart. They had become the main transportation of Perdido Beach. Five of Edilio's guards were guarding the garage at Clifftop where about fifty golf carts were stashed, and the solar panels from the mall had been brought to help power them. Orc had pushed cars off of the streets and pushed them into a pile on Sherman Street, which was for the most part abandoned since the fire. The remaining streets of Perdido beach almost looked normal, if it wasn't for the dry, weedy grass, the burned houses, the broken windows.**

**It still wasn't perfect, Sam thought, but improvements had been made. The main problem at hand was the disappearance of Lana, the Healer. Dahra was still on hand, although she couldn't perform the same feats as Lana. Sam hoped that when, not if, she returned, she would be in better shape, both physically and mentally.**

**But Sam didn't have a lot of time to dwell on that. He had to deal with Drake. He shuddered when he heard the name, even inside of his own head. He hated Drake with more passion than he could put into words, and would kill him in a heartbeat. But Brittany was just a kid. A kid who had shown up with the wrong power in the wrong place.**

**Not like the FAYZ had ever been the **_**right**_** place.**

_**AN: Not much else to say, review please. **___


	4. Misunderstandings

Brianna had been miserable all week. Not only was she rendered completely useless during Mary's Big Jump, due to a horrible flu, but Dekka. She liked Dekka. Hell, she would even go as far to say that Dekka was her closest friend here in the FAYZ. But last week, things had gone wrong.

Dekka had some minor injuries following the battle, but nothing that Lana couldn't fix in a few minutes. If Lana were around. Brianna hated her for abandoning everyone. Abandoning Dekka. Dahra was completely overwhelmed, not knowing how to cope with everything and everyone being thrown into the makeshift hospital. Instead, Dekka spent all week in the hospital, while Dahra experimented with different methods of making a cast for Dekka's broken ankle.

Brianna visited her every day, bringing her food and whatever else she could find that would make her stay more enjoyable: Magazines, books, even Brianna's own iPod, which still held half a charge (since the solar panels had been taken, a charged iPod was a rare thing). She had felt so bad for Dekka, lying there helpless, and often in a lot of pain. But she was her friend, so what else was she supposed to do? Finally Dahra had come up with a pair of crutches and a somewhat reliable cast, and had sent Dekka home.

Brianna had suggested that Dekka stay with her until she was back on her feet (Dekka had actually laughed at Brianna's lame attempt at a pun). Now, Brianna thought, she knew that was a mistake. Everything had been a mistake.

She didn't know.

Three nights into Dekka's stay, Brianna had passed out on the bed she had set up for Dekka in a spare room. She was exhausted after another day running around looking for Lana. They were talking about something—Brianna couldn't remember what—when suddenly she was asleep. She awoke in the middle of the night, and immediately felt awful. At first, she expected Dekka would have just went and slept in Brianna's bed, or maybe on the couch.

She didn't expect Dekka to be _spooning _her.

Brianna was completely trapped in the awkward embrace. Dekka had her arms around her, and even though Brianna could speed out of there in two seconds flat, it would still wake Dekka up. Brianna went through all of these options in a fraction of a second. However, her first instinct was still to fly out of the bed, taking most of the blankets—and almost Dekka—with her.

Dekka woke up, and upon seeing the look on Brianna's face, knew she had made a mistake. Her foot throbbed lightly from the sudden movement, but that wasn't what was bothering her at the moment. Brianna looked completely freaked out. "Brianna, I-"

"What were you doing? You could have just woken me up, you know." Well, Dekka thought, the cat's out of the bag now. Might as well come out with it. "Brianna, I so didn't want to tell you this in these circumstances, but I like you. I like you a lot."

"Well I like you too Dekka, but you don't-"

"Damn it, Brianna! I _like_ you!" Brianna's face gave her away again. She got it. "I… I didn't know, Dekka."

Dekka scowled at Brianna, angry for giving away her emotions. Angry for a lot of reasons, many of which she still didn't understand. "Just go to bed, Brianna."

With that, Dekka pulled the blankets over her head as Brianna shut the door, and prayed for the release of sleep.

**Diana was almost happy on her and Caine's little island. They had enough food to last them another year or so, and Diana was beginning to look like her old self again. Sure enough, the vitamins had helped rid her of scurvy, and when she smiled, two rows of gleaming white teeth shone back at her. Her hair, which was rust-coloured and felt like straw only months before, was about at her shoulders, and a few weeks of celebrity-grade shampoo and conditioning treatments had brought back most of the shine she was used to. Jennifer also had a pretty thorough wardrobe. Caine was better; he almost never talked about Sam anymore, and was starting to lose most of his aggression towards her. Was he still an angry jerk? Yes. But he was a lot more manageable than he was on the mainland.**

** All was not perfect, and Diana knew that. She felt guilty often, knowing what the kids on Perdido Beach were experiencing. Diana could have as many hot showers as she wanted. Eat as much as she wanted. Wash her clothes in a real washing machine, and watch movies all day if that was what she wanted. Was this how all celebrities felt? She often thought about going down to the mainland, collecting a handful of random, lucky kids, and bringing them back with her to share their luxury. But then, wasn't that exactly what Toddifer did with Sanjit and his siblings? And when Sanjit spoke of Jennifer and Todd, they hadn't acted like they were their parents. In fact, they hardly seemed to feel "rescued" to Diana. But, she reminded herself, however happy Sanjit, or any kid in the FAYZ for that matter was, it was no longer her problem.**

**Diana, for the first time in almost a year, was happy.**

**AN: I'm annoyed that my Diana/Caine chapters are so short. **** Don't worry, they shall improve. I have ideas. **


	5. Partnership

Lil had been walking for a while now. She had slept in another abandoned car, and was, by her calculations, about halfway to Perdido Beach. About an hour after she had started day two of her journey, Lil spotted something on the horizon. She couldn't tell who or what it was. It was a little black speck, wavering slightly in the heat of the midmorning. Lil decided to let it come towards her—for now.

She would figure out what to do with it when the time came.

That time was approaching quickly. Lil could see the outline of the person—she knew now that it was a person—coming towards her more quickly. The speck from earlier that morning was now a silhouette about half a mile away. Lil expected they would be meeting in about twenty minutes. Lil saw a few more half-obliterated cars between them, and decided to check the glove boxes, just in case. She found a small hand gun—she had no idea what kind—under one of the seats, and tucked it in her purse.

The Eggshell was a dangerous place, after all.

Lil took the gun out about fifty feet from the boy. He stopped dead in his tracks, but his expression wasn't fearful, as she had expected. Instead, he looked blank and defeated. His face said, "Go ahead, and shoot me. I have nothing left to live for anyway." Lil frowned a little, but kept up her demeanor. "Who are you?" she said, far more shakily than she would have liked.

"My name's John!" the boy yelled, "I'm not going to try and shoot you, so unless you want to kill me for no reason…" Lil put the gun away and sighed. The boy was right. She wasn't a killer.

"So what brings you to the middle of nowhere?" Lil said as they closed the gap between them.

"I—I don't really know. I just needed—need—to get away. I figured I might find something if I just kept walking."

Lil sighed again, and rubbed the back of her neck. The kid couldn't have been more than ten or eleven. "Look, kid… I've just walked the other half of where you're headed, and I can tell you there's nothing there worth looking for." The boy looked disappointed, even crushed. But as he studied Lil more closely, she began to worry. She had forgotten how old she looked, even for an 18 year old. She was tall for a girl, about 5'11, with thick, straight medium brown hair, green eyes, and freckles. She was average weight, and wore an orange t-shirt, jeans, and a brown purse that she carried with her like a bible. But no normal 15 or 16 year old was this tall.

"Hey," he began slowly, "how old are you anyway?" His curiosity had turned into full-fledged suspicion.

"Eh, what do I have to lose? Think you can keep a secret?" John looked wary, but he nodded slowly.

"I'm eighteen."

"Woah."

"Yeah…" Lil rubbed the back of her neck again, a bad habit for when she felt anxious.

"How did you not, you know…" He trailed off.

"I wasn't here when the Eggshell showed up. My mother and I-" But the boy wasn't paying attention anymore. Instead he was badly attempting to contain laughter. Eventually what little defenses he had left crumbled, and his body racked with full-on chortles, laughing until his eyes were red from crying. Lil was mildly annoyed.

"Uhm, I'm sorry, was my story too funny to handle or something?"

What did you call it? An _eggshell_? Oh my goodness, that's too much!" He kept laughing.

Mild annoyance was growing into complete irritation.

"Yeah, that's right. That's what everyone outside calls it."

"Man, I guess we're better at coming up with names than you guys are. We call it the FAYZ."

"The what?"

"The Fallout Alley Youth Zone. See? Much more catchy." Lil had to admit it was. The irritation was slowly dissipating now that she had been given a proper explanation. In fact, Lil was deciding that she didn't mind having this kid around. He kind of reminded her of a male version of Brianna. This John kid definitely came with a bit of an attitude.

"Hey, listen kid. Since there's nothing really happening on the other side of the… FAYZ, do you want to turn around and come with me? I'm not really sure what's over there, but it might be worth taking a look." John half shrugged, half shook his head. "I've been there. There isn't anything much there either, but I guess it's all I've got left." Lil smiled.

"Well let's go then, I can't live off of plants and sugar free gum forever." She patted John on the back and they turned around together. Towards Brianna, hopefully.

And, hey, you never know, Lil thought, Brianna might think this kid is cute.

**Okay, so only one perspective. I just really wanted to thoroughly introduce Lil and John to each other. Please R&R, it makes me happy. Also, I really want Drake to be in the next chapter. I tried squeezing him in another chapter, but it turned into Sam for some reason. Oh well. BYE!**


	6. Escape

Brianna had to talk to Dekka. Had to. She had already insisted on leaving after their little incident, but Brianna had adamantly refused. She wouldn't let things get worse between them. But Brianna was unsure as to whether or not a break would be all that bad for the two of them. Brianna had been helping Dekka make her way around the house, wordlessly, for a few days, and it was really starting to grate on Brianna's nerves. She was a naturally social person, and she was starting to get seriously annoyed with her friend.

After helping Dekka over to the couch, she decided to run around town and see what everyone was up to. When she stopped off at the daycare, he jaw dropped. Brianna didn't expect to see order and routine, but she definitely didn't expect what she saw. Two eight year olds (who seemed to be the only kids over five in the daycare) were running around frantically, trying to stop toddlers from running into the hardware store and playing with power tools. There were two girls of about four who were tearing each other's hair out, and countless babies wailing, crying for mothers who would never come.

And in the middle of this anarchy: Sam.

Brianna could tell he had been up for days. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair filthy, and he was trying to pick up more children than he could possibly pick up on his own. Brianna called out to him, but he didn't hear her. She had to call his name half a dozen times to get his attention.

"Sam!" She screamed, silencing most of the older kids in the room. Sam turned, but he didn't seem to be looking _at_ Brianna, but through her.

"Yeah?" he sighed.

"I don't even know where to—what are you doing here? Where is everybody?" Brianna looked around a second time, but she still couldn't see anyone other than the two eight year olds.

"After Mary…" Sam trailed off, looking for the right word, "After she left, there was nobody left to enforce anything here. Everyone left."

"Where's John, where's-"

"Everyone's gone, Brianna!" Sam snapped. He frowned, rubbing his forehead. "Sorry, I'm just really…" He trailed off again. Now it was Brianna's turn to frown. This wasn't Sam's job. The Human Crew was bloodthirsty, and here Sam was trying to figure out how a diaper worked. Lost for anything else to say, Brianna blurted out, "Sam, go to bed."

"What? I can't leave these kids, Brianna." She shook her head.

"Are you that proud that you can't physically ask for help? I'm a teenage girl. I know how to babysit." She smirked at him and winked. "Plus," she drawled, "I can do it a hundred times faster than you." Sam still looked unconvinced, so Brianna took one sweep around the room to see where everything was, picked up one of the crying children, grabbed a fresh diaper, changed it, and threw the old one in the garbage. When she stopped, Sam looked around the room confused, wondering when Brianna had picked up one of the children. The baby in Brianna's arms was just as confused, looking around to figure out how its diaper was no longer dirty. "See?" She said, smiling. "I'm better at it than you. Don't fret, Sammy. I'll find some other kids to recruit, and by the time you wake up, this place will be running better than… Well I guess nothing in the FAYZ really works that well anymore." She shrugged, still feeling victorious. Sam walked over to the couch that had been moved against the hardware store wall in an attempt to stop younger children from climbing into it—an attempt, Brianna saw, that was failing. Thinking of the cliché, Brianna saw that Sam was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

** Dekka was starting to get annoyed. Brianna had said she would only be gone for a few minutes, and three hours later she was still here, alone. **

**So. **

**Alone.**

**She would be this way forever, she thought. Alone like this. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair that she was attracted to a straight girl. Fate shouldn't work like this, if there was such a thing as fate. But worked it had, and now Dekka was stuck like this. Gay and alone.**

**It **_**definitely**_** wasn't fair.**

** If she knew Brianna—and Dekka bet she knew her pretty well—she was going to try and talk to her about what had happened the other night. Deep down, Dekka knew it was the right thing to do, but externally, she couldn't be more terrified. Brianna's speech would make it all final. All of the hope Dekka had been trying to create would be destroyed, and the deep-down knowledge that she had tried to suppress would be forced to the surface of her being.**

**It would kill her inside.**

**Too late now, Dekka thought, you're the idiot who decided to cuddle with her.**

** But maybe—and it was a big maybe—Brianna wasn't thinking the obvious. Maybe, like Dekka had several years ago, she was considering… something else. Dekka popped Brianna's headphones into her ears, and cranked up a song on Brianna's "Favourites" playlist. Drowning out the world, but never her own thoughts.**

"Kill me! Why won't anybody listen to me! It's my body, and I say _kill me_!" Brittany screeched. Nick cringed. She had been doing that all afternoon. Sam and Edilio had given him specific instructions not to listen to either of them—Brittany or Drake. But it was hard. He had never seen anyone in that much pain, wishing for death with such intensity. Nick was only ten, but the FAYZ had aged him. He knew he was more mature than most kids his age. Maybe he could talk to her, convince her that she could overpower Drake's mind. She had been herself since Nick had been put on post at lunchtime, and now it was almost dark. That was longer than usual.

It was almost time for her food, anyway. Nick would talk to her. For five minutes, that's it, he told himself. Five minutes. He set his watch's alarm, just in case, and grabbed the tortilla stuffed with cabbage, and a small mug full of water, and headed down the stairs.

He laughed nervously as he saw he was shaking. She's not scary, he thought, she's just a kid.

Just a kid.

He pried back one of the plywood boards keeping the poor girl imprisoned, and called out to her. "B-Brittany?" he stuttered, peeking in to see her. She was sitting cross legged in the middle of the room, her head hanging almost to the floor. She looked pathetic. She looked up when he called out to her, and smiled sadly. Nick guessed he was probably the first person in a long time to actually talk to her.

"I have your food…" he began. Her smile faltered, and Nick could see the disappointment.

"But!" He exclaimed, "I also wanted to talk to you about something else, if you don't mind." Her smile returned, only to falter again. "Don't talk to me. I don't deserve to have you talk to me. I'm a monster…"

"I don't think so." Nick said, prying another piece of plywood back. There was now a large enough gap that he could slide in, but Brittany recoiled back towards the furthest corner of the room, still afraid for him.

"I think…" he began, "That people just judge you for things you couldn't control." She shook her head.

"No! It doesn't matter_. I'm_ the monster!" Nick sighed. This was going to be hard.

"What if you could control it?" This peaked her interest, and for a second she looked interested, even hopeful. But she shook her head again. "That's stupid. I can't control it. I've tried so, so hard."

"But Brittany…" Nick trailed off. He didn't know what else to say. Brittany's head remained down, staring at the ground. Nick couldn't see her face, but he thought maybe she was crying.

They sat in silence for a minute or so. Nick thought she could use the company. But when she looked up, it wasn't Brittany's face looking back at him. Instead, dead blue eyes locked with his, and a smirk Nick knew was fatal. He went to reach through the gap to grab his gun, thinking how stupid he was to not have brought it with him. But he had wanted her to feel comfortable around him. He managed to grab it, but when he turned around the sight of the boy—and, more specifically, his arm—made him hesitate.

Drake howled with laughter.

"Stupid fucking kid."


	7. Shelter

_**AN: Okay, so I actually love how I ended the last chapter, and I was kind of like, "Alrighty, I'll just leave it like that, so I can't wreck it." But then someone subscribed to it, and I was like "UGGGGGH FINE. I guess I'll keep going." (But seriously, I pretty much peed myself when I saw people liked this. XD) Keep liking it! **___

Drake knew where he was going. He wasn't an idiot. Every memory from the night of his "death" was embedded in his skull. He wasn't one for regrets, and he wasn't about to add that night to the list. The pleasure he felt as he saw Diana's empty little head crack open like an egg could never be matched. He smiled, as he did whenever he recalled that particular memory.

But that wasn't why he was headed out to the highway. He was going to go to Coates. At night, when he knew Caine would be asleep. He would kill him first, then move on to the others. He sighed a little when he thought of Penny. She was a bitch, but she was the one he hated the least out of all of the Coates' kids. Didn't matter, he thought, she's the one who decided to team up with Caine.

He decided to walk to the edge of town, and circle around to the highway. He didn't need any morons like Sam or Orc getting in his way. It took longer, but Drake preferred it this way. He had time to think. Think about how he was going to kill Caine, and how blissful that moment would be when it finally came. When he reached the highway, he stuck close to the shoulder, checking behind him every minute or so to make sure he was alone. Of course he was alone. Sam would want to come after him, but his "genius" of a girlfriend wouldn't let him. Some man, Drake thought, laughing.

The gates of Coates loomed high above him, wide open, almost as if they were beckoning his return. He marched in proudly, walking down the centre of the drive. It was about two in the morning, if that little shit's watch was on time. Yes, Caine would be asleep. Maybe having nightmares about his precious Diana's skull breaking open.

Drake hoped so.

He walked through the halls, making sure to be quiet. Usually, he would have made his presence known. Let Caine hear him. Know his death was coming. But Drake couldn't let him have a head start.

He wasn't going to fuck up this time.

** Lil and John were tired. They were only a few miles from Perdido Beach, but it was late. They hadn't slept in that morning, and Lil found herself dozing off while walking, something she had never done before. "Isn't there **_**anything**_** around here?" she whined. John shook his head nervously. "Nowhere worth going."**

"**What do you mean, 'nowhere worth going'?" **_**Anywhere**_** would be worth going to at this point, Lil thought. She could tell John was slightly annoyed. To be honest, she hadn't really done anything other than complain since she had met up with him. She knew he was tougher than she was. But she couldn't help it, she needed sleep.**

"**There's a school up ahead, but I wouldn't go there. Ever." John looked at the ground and kicked at some rocks sitting on the side of the road. Lil shook her head. **

"**I don't care if it's full of rotting squid. I need to sleep. You can either come get a decent night's sleep with me, or keep walking until your legs fall off." She could see the outline of a building—what must be the school—up ahead. Probably only a five minute walk, Lil thought. Well, she could handle five minutes more. But John looked afraid, and his eyes looked to the school with pure terror. "Dude," Lil said, "It's a school. What's so bad about it anyway?"**

"**There used to be kids there. We didn't really get along." Lil sensed a hidden meaning, but she didn't push the subject further.**

"**Well they aren't there now, are they?" He shook his head.**

"**No, they left a while ago. On some boats or something." Lil nodded, her mind fighting between her instinct to stay away from the school, and her instinct that needed sleep. Sleep won.**

"**Well if there's nobody there, I don't see why we can't stop off for a bit. It's just for one night, and then we can leave first thing in the morning." John still looked uneasy, but he nodded. Lil knew he didn't want to separate from her, and she also knew that she had used it against him. She was too tired to care. They walked through the gates, up the drive to the front door. John walked behind Lil, always waiting for her to take the first move.**

"**Uhm, okay then. In we go." She said, sliding the front door open. John was right, the place was deserted, and half demolished, she thought. She imagined that Coates must have been a beautiful school at one point, but not anymore. It had gone through hell, and Lil thought John must have too, to be so afraid of it. They walked down one of the many hallways, until the smell of something foul met them both.**

"**Oh my God, what the hell is that?" Lil gasped, fighting back the urge to gag. John didn't say anything. His hands were plastered over his mouth, and his eyes were watering. They kept walking, but the smell was only getting stronger. They saw what it was as they reached the cafeteria, and Lil had to suppress her urge to vomit.**

**She failed.**

** Something—Lil tried to deny what it was—sat charred and burnt on one of the tables. Chunks of it were missing, and the entire being was rotting away. Lil turned around to see John, but he was gone. She turned around and ran, wanting to put as much distance between her, and that poor, poor child.**

** John was running up the stairs, and Lil was about to let him, until she realized that she didn't know her away around the school at all. "John! Wait!" She yelled, running after him. By the time he stopped, they were in an area of the school completely unfamiliar to Lil. There were doors lining both sides of the hallway, and Lil quickly realized that these must be the dorms.**

"**Well, that's one way to find them." She said, opening one of the doors. It seemed untouched. Lil looked to John, who looked panicked.**

"**What's wrong?"**

"**I don't want to sleep alone… I don't like this place at all." Lil frowned. They definitely weren't going to fit on a single bed. She walked into the room next door, pulled the mattress off of the bed, and flopped it onto the floor in her room.**

"**That solves that, then." They set up their bedding, and were both asleep within minutes.**

**And awoke to the sounds of the world crashing down around them.**

_**Another A/N: Man, I really wanted to put some Sam in here, but Lil and John took too long. Next one SHOULD have Sam, Drake, and Caine/Diana. **____** Also, I know I'm writing this really fast, but it's only because I'm on holidays. Come next Monday, I'll probably only have time for MAYBE two chapters a week, and even less during assignment overload time. D: Oh noes!**_


	8. Encounter

Sam was sleeping—something he never really seemed to have time for—when Edilio ran into his room.

"Sam, dude, we have a major problem on our hands." Sam, half awake, rolled over in bed. "What did the Stupid Crew do this time?" He was really starting to hate them. They had set fire to two more houses—which were beginning to become more and more of a rarity in Perdido Beach—and had almost killed two children, who, ironically, were both "normals."

"It's not them, Sam. It's Brit—It's Drake." The shock of his name caused Sam to fall out of bed, rolling over in a tangled mass of itchy, dirty sheets. He stood up and tried to regain a little bit of composure. "Are you sure? I mean, Edilio, this is a big deal. Are you absolutely sure?" Edilio didn't need to say anything. The look on his face was enough.

"Were there…any…"

Edilio nodded. "One. A boy named Nick. We don't know how Drake got to him or how he escaped, but we think Nick went inside to see Brittany. And let's face it Sam, what would have been a better opportunity?" Sam nodded, throwing on a t-shirt and jeans.

"Has anyone seen him?" Sam sighed when Edilio nodded. At least that was one thing he didn't have to worry about—for now. Drake on a rampage was definitely not what he wanted to deal with at the moment. Sam noticed for the first time that Edilio's face was beet red, and soaked in sweat.

"Dude, why are you here telling me this? Where are Taylor and Brianna? Oh crap…"

"Yeah man, they've been at the Daycare for days. They haven't really been able to do anything else." Great, Sam thought, more decision making.

"Tell Taylor she's off babysitting duty. Brianna can stay, but we need at least one person who can keep communication going. Brianna should have no problem finding someone else." He knew he was lying, but he didn't have time right now. "How long has he been out?"

"I went to bring Nathan over for a shift change at around midnight, and he was gone. Nick's shift started that afternoon, so I guess any time between noon and midnight." Sam cursed under his breath. For the first time in a long time, Sam asked Edilio what to do.

"I don't know, man. Maybe ask Astrid. I don't know if we want to take him on right now, and if he's just run off anyway…"

"No," Sam said, "he'll be back. But you're right, I guess for now we'll let Astrid think about it."

"It's what she's best at, bro." Edilio laughed, and then was off, looking for Taylor. And Sam knew they needed her a lot more than the Daycare.

** Caine was sitting in a chaise lounge by the pool, thinking. He had gone over to the mainland—a feat only he himself could accomplish—and had looked around at the state of things in Perdido Beach. Things hadn't been that out of the ordinary, until he had heard him. The whip, the screaming, and the sound of Drake's prison being torn apart.**

**That was more than enough of a warning for Caine.**

** He had returned to find Diana, angry and disgruntled at his curiosity.**

"**You couldn't just be **_**happy **_**here, could you Caine? You had to go snooping around!" Caine hadn't told her about Drake. Not when she was already angry. Things had gotten better between them, but he wasn't about to fuck it all up with Drake.**

**Hell, she was more afraid of him than Caine was, though he wouldn't admit it.**

**He knew he wasn't afraid of Drake because of the whip. He could tear that stupid thing off in a heartbeat if he wanted to. No, his attitude was what concerned Caine. He knew that Drake would remember Caine teaming up with Sam to kill him. He would come for revenge, and revenge from Drake meant playing dirty, and underhanded.**

**That's what he was afraid of.**

** Even more so than that, he was afraid for Diana. Sure, he would sneak up on Caine and slit his throat, but he didn't want to imagine the horrors the creep had in store for Diana. That wasn't fair.**

"**Having fun plotting?" Diana said dryly, sitting beside him.**

"**Why would I be plotting?" Caine asked, trying to sound nonchalant.**

"**Oh please," she drawled, "you're shitty at hiding stuff from me. I know you saw something in Perdido Beach, so you might as well just come on out and say it." Caine nodded, and knew she was right.**

"**Drake escaped." Diana's face lost all colour, but she kept most of her composure. "Oh yeah? Great. Well it's a good thing he thinks we're back at Coates, unless you screwed that up too."**

"**No, he didn't see me. But if I know Drake, he's going to find us eventually."**

"**Well, Mister Genius," Diana said, "What's your master plan this time?"**

Only place left was the dorms, he thought. He had searched all of the classrooms quietly, not wanting Caine or any other kids to escape while he was busy looking. But now, with Coates' single hallway of dormitories looming before him, he knew his goal was within reach. He checked Caine and Diana's rooms first—empty. Figures, he thought, but who cares where he's sleeping.

He slowly opened each door, whip at the ready, along with a gun he had stolen from the idiot kid in Perdido Beach. He would have preferred to whip Caine, but surprise had to be everything. One fuck up and he was as good as dead. Penny too, he thought.

But everyone else was a different story.

Yes, Drake thought, he was going to enjoy killing the few kids left at Coates. But as he headed through the rooms, he began to get angry. There were about a dozen kids left at Coates, but only half a dozen rooms left to search. Panicking, he began swinging the doors open with massive force, knocking several of them off of their hinges. "Caine!" he screamed, no longer caring about surprise, "Come out and fight me like a man!" Then, all of a sudden, he was silent, listening for any signs of stirring.

He smirked as he heard a lock slide into place.

He walked over to the room at the end of the hall, where muffled footsteps could now be heard. "Oh come on Caine! Are you that much of a coward that you can't even fight me? I'm a zero bar! Oh wait, your little bitch Diana isn't here to tell you that now is she?" He laughed, and whipped the door once. He heard a small whimper from behind the door, followed by someone—a girl, Drake noticed—telling him to be quiet. Now he was officially confused. "Who's in there?" he screeched, whipping the door now with far more ferocity.

He dropped the gun. Caine wasn't in there, he knew that now. But the need to kill was already burning within him, and these kids, whoever they were, would tide him over until he figured out what to do next. With one final whip, the door fell onto the ground, revealing two people. One, a younger boy, was some kid from Perdido Beach. Drake smiled as he remembered the boy in the Daycare, trying to shield children from coyotes. The other girl was… who was she? Drake didn't remember her from anything. Maybe she was some hermit, he thought, who had been living in the woods or something.

"Who the fuck are you?" he growled, pointing his whip at her. Her eyes widened and she looked like she might faint, which wouldn't be good for Drake. He liked his victims alive and kicking. "I'm Lil." She said, trying to sound tough. "Yeah, that's lovely." Drake said, "I meant why the hell don't I know who you are?" He saw a flicker of uncertainty in her eyes, followed by defeat.

"I'm 18, and I'm from outside the… FAYZ, okay? Now I don't know who you are or why you're like... that… but just get the hell out of here! We won't bother you if you don't bother us." The boy was sitting beside her, curled up in a ball, whispering, "I knew I shouldn't have… I knew it. I knew better."

"Well, I have to admit, that's pretty fucking impressive. But I'm still going to kill you both. Now," he said, moving his whip between them, "who should I kill first? The coward peeing his pants, or the newbie?" He paused, then pointed his whip at the boy. "I choose… you!" His whip came down on the boys back, and he began wailing in pain.

"Yeah, that's right, cry a bit more. Because that's helping you." He saw the older girl reaching for a brown bag. He went to grab it from her, but she already had the gun pointed at him. He immediately knew that she had no experience, but that didn't stop her from closing her eyes, and pulling the trigger.

Luckily the chamber wasn't full, and the girl was only able to shoot four bullets. Two missed, one hit him in his whip hand, and one lodged itself deep within his shin. He doubled over in pain, cursing. The girl grabbed her bag and tried to run off with the boy. He caught her ankle with his whip, crying out from the pain but causing her to fall on her face. She kicked the entry point of the bullet, and Drake was forced to release her.

"Let's go!" She screamed, pulling the boy downstairs with her.

"I'll kill you! I swear to God, you stupid whore, I will fucking kill you both! Fuck you!"

His screams followed them out of the school.

_**A/N: Wow, super long chapter, huh? Well, that's what happens when you promise people three POVs. Oh well. Next chapter will definitely have Astrid/Sam, Drake, and… I don't know, maybe Orc in it. I was thinking of including Lana/ some explanation there, but honestly, I hate Lana. If I wrote about her, she would probably end up dying. So, for now, no Lana. Review, pl0x. **___


	9. Planning

_**A/N: Yeah, it's short. I just realized I haven't thanked anyone who has reviewed this, and I apologise. Reviews make me intensely happy. I love them. So keep doing it. **____** I was going to put some Caine and Diana in here, but I'm watching Wipeout, so I'll do it next chapter. XD Thank you again!**_

"Uhm, Astrid?" Sam was—as usual—a tired mess. He sat down with the rest of the council, who were having another one of their infamous meetings. "Well, everybody." He corrected, looking around the room. They looked at him expectantly, and Astrid waved for him to continue. "I guess you guys all know that Drake and Brittany…" he trailed off as people began nodding. "Yeah. Well, what are we planning?" Astrid shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Nothing, Sam. He's leaving us alone… for now. We think that his first move is going to be Coates. He's no doubt looking for Caine. So, we wait it out."

"But he's probably figured out the school's deserted by now. Then what?" Howard instigated, putting his feet up on the table. He and Astrid still hadn't made amends. And he looked at her with a smirk that said, "Go on, Astrid. Make a plan. If you're so damn great at it." She scowled, but regained her composure, this time addressing Sam more than the council.

"Well, I don't very well think he's going to try and take on all of Perdido Beach alone, don't you think?" Sam didn't want to pick sides between Astrid and Howard, but if he had to, he was going to choose Astrid.

"Yeah, you're right." When he looked up, he saw everyone looking to him, not Astrid. Great, Sam thought, time for another decision.

"Okay," he said slowly, trying to buy himself some time. "Edilio, keep your guys on high alert. Get a few extra kids, if you can." Edilio nodded. Sam turned his attention to Howard. "Howard, we're going to need Orc. He's one of the only people who Drake seems to have no effect on." Howard nodded, and waved his hand, motioning for Sam to offer him something. "Yes, he'll get his beer." He turned to Astrid, who was frowning, but Sam didn't care.

"Astrid, don't act like you would prefer Drake heading for you and Little Pete." She nodded solemnly, understanding.

"Well good." Sam said, looking forward to the end of the meeting. "I guess that settles that then." Just as Sam was about to leave, he heard a small knock on the door. If he had still been talking, he may not have heard it.

"Uhm, who is it?" Edilio pointed a gun at the door for good measure.

"It's John!" Everyone who wasn't paying attention looked to the door. Nobody had seen John in four days.

"Come in! Come in!" Sam ran to open the door, where John—and a girl Sam had never seen before—stood. The girl had blood smeared from her knees up the side of her head, and both looked like they had been through hell.

"Uhm, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who are you?" Sam asked, motioning to the girl.

"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot lately," she said dryly, walking into the office.

** Drake hadn't been that angry at someone who wasn't Caine or Diana for a long time. He could walk, but it was excruciating, and he wasn't going to be running any marathons any time soon. Plus, it hurt to whip anything—which, to Drake, was more annoying than his leg. He had gone into Caine's old room and stolen two of his shirts. One he ripped up to bandage his wounds, and the other he wore. Drake smiled, happy that he was at least able to ruin something of Caine's. But the happiness was very short lived.**

**He had no idea where to go from here.**

** He had finally come to terms with the fact that there was nobody left at Coates. Nobody but someone Drake was barely able to recognize as Panda, poor son of a bitch. That had provided him with a small bit of amusement. But now, Drake had to decide what to do.**

**Where would Caine go?**

** Not to Perdido Beach, he knew that much. He hated Sam far too much. If he didn't have Diana, suicide was a possibility, but Drake wasn't going to rely on that. It also didn't explain why nobody else was around. He decided to search Caine and Diana's rooms, to see if Caine left anything in his room. By the time he was finished, the rooms had been torn apart. Drake had even ripped up some of Diana's clothes, just for fun. But he hadn't found anything that would explain Caine's disappearance.**

**He had to admit, he had nothing else to go on.**

** Drake wandered the dorms, opening doors and lazily checking drawers and desktops. But he doubted he would find anything. Finally he reached the last room—the first one he had checked the night before. **

**There were a lot of magazines, comic books and empty candy wrappers, but nothing useful. Drake guessed this room belonged to Bug—nobody else's room would be this disgusting and full of garbage. He picked up a box of Skittles and rattled it: there were still three inside. Drake was hungry, and even he liked candy. Bug had also left a magazine article on his bed, so Drake opened it, flipping through the pages casually. He didn't care about celebrity gossip, but he was bored, and needed something to calm him down.**

**He almost fell asleep reading it, but something caught his eye. Something, Drake noticed, that Bug had been stupid enough to circle in bright red marker.**


	10. Reunited

_**A/N: Okay, so someone (luckycharms92) unconsciously made me start planning my fanfic, and I did. So I know how it's going to end now. Muahahaha. But yeah, I like how it ends. **____** Review! :D Edit: Okay, Lil reuniting with Brianna took too long. Plan will have to be redone. XD Oh well, that just means more updates for you. Are my notes too long? Probably. Koodos if you read this. :D On a similar note, I am so sorry for the length of this. I was going to stop… But I didn't. **___

Sam had shown Lil where Brianna lived. She walked the streets of Perdido Beach nervously, as more and more children eyed her with suspicion. Lil had purposefully avoided her old house. Brianna wasn't living there, and she didn't need to see that part of her life.

Maybe another day, when she had less on her mind.

Right now, Lil was thinking about how stupid she was. Coates was a mistake, and John had known that. Meanwhile, she had been so stubborn.

So.

Fucking.

Stubborn.

But then again, Lil thought, she had always been like that. Always unsure, until some irrational wave of decisiveness washed over her, forcing her to act on whatever impulses she happened to have at the time. Sure, her decisions would seem logical, but they rarely were.

Lil wished she could be sure of something, anything, and still believe it the next day.

Sam had told her all about Coates Academy, the boy with the whip arm, and Sam's brother. She could understand now why John was so afraid of the place. But John wasn't with her now—he was at the Daycare. He had told Lil it was the only constant left in his life, and he needed to see the kids again.

Lil could understand that.

She reached Brianna's new home, and a stranger answered the door. She had broken something—Lil guessed her ankle—which was bandaged with some kind of makeshift cast. The girl glared at Lil, obviously just as suspicious as the other kids had been.

"Uhm hi," Lil said, "Is Brianna home?" The girl nodded, but she did it with attitude, still not sure of Lil's presence.

"You're lucky you caught her. She was going to go back to work after lunch." The girl limped off to get Brianna, and Lil smiled a little bit. Her sister had a job. Back before the FAYZ, the only thing Brianna had ever done for money was babysit. She heard the girl call out to her sister, who arrived at the door in less than a second. Lil shook her head. She was still a little woozy from dehydration and lack of sleep, but she didn't think she was going to start hallucinating.

She made a mental note to take a nap.

But she wasn't paying attention to sleep deprivation. She was paying attention to her little—or who used to be little—sister. She was thinner than Lil remembered, but much taller. She wrapped her arms around her and wanted to cry, but she didn't have enough water for that, either. Brianna, meanwhile, did not return Lil's hug. Instead, she backed away slowly, her face full of shock.

"Lil… there's no way. How?" Lil smiled as a dry sob shook her. They walked into Brianna's little living room and sat down across from each other.

"I don't know what happened, Bri. I mean, it might have been a miracle—not that I usually believe in that kind of stuff—but one minute I was leaning on the… dome thing, and the next I was face down on the highway, stuck in here! I actually got here four or five days ago. To be honest it's been kind of a blur. But yeah, here I am." Lil smiled, happy to finally tell her story to someone who mattered. She had rehearsed it a lot in her mind, but it was another thing to finally tell it to her little sister.

A flash of something crossed Brianna's face, followed by a slight frown. She looked unsure of herself.

"Dad." She said, "Did they find him?"

Another sob, smaller this time.

But she smiled, for Brianna.

"No," Lil began, "They didn't find anybody. To be honest, I'm not even sure how they know this place is full of kids. A bunch of scientists figured it out, but they were never very specific on how they knew everything." Lil saw the pained look on her sister's face and paused.

"But mum is fine!" she said, hoping to improve her sister's mood. It did. Brianna smiled a little and wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "She misses you so damn much, Bri. A ton of people have given up waiting for their kids. But mum and I came every day, just in case." Brianna smiled, even though her tears were coming more frequently. Lil laughed a little bit.

"That reminds me, do you have any water?"

**"I have to admit, this isn't your greatest plan." Diana was lying on a small couch in the living room, picking at her fingernails.**

"**Yeah, well it's the only thing we've got at the moment." Diana rolled her eyes, having heard Caine's speech a million times. She figured that at this point, he was trying to convince himself more than her.**

"**We're on an island, he's on the mainland. I don't even think I can carry the two of us back there, and even if I could, it would just make it easier for him to attack us. We might as well just sit tight." Diana sighed, rolling over on her stomach, her face almost buried into a pillow.**

"**Damn it, Diana, I know it sucks! When you come up with something better, please let me know." Caine was pacing, and Diana hated that. It made her feel stressed.**

**Like she wasn't already.**

"**Are you going to tell Penny?" She had been living in a small apartment in the basement of the home, refusing to acknowledge either of them. Caine shook his head.**

"**If she wants to be a hermit, she can be a hermit. I have enough to worry about without her. What's the matter, don't think I can take him on alone?" Diana laughed spitefully, ending the conversation.**

** The weeks they had spent together on the island had made them softer, both physically and towards each other. Caine had regained most of his handsomeness and Diana suspected she had too. They were well-fed. They were happy. It meant less reason to be bitter, less reason to be sarcastic, and less reason to hold back.**

**Diana suspected that if they were still going to school, like semi-normal kids, her and Caine would have been considered official.**

** But Drake's escape had changed that. They were becoming more hostile towards each other, and both of them hated it. Despite her demeanour, she enjoyed having a normal relationship with Caine.**

**Welcome to life, Diana thought.**

**She really did hope Caine killed the creep.**

**Painfully.**

** Diana saw Caine looking at her from the corner of her eye. He saw the anger on her face, and Diana forced it to evaporate, not wanting Caine to think it was directed at him. She smiled softly, and he melted.**

"**I'm tired, Caine. Let's just go to sleep, okay?" It was a bit early, but the day had been long for both of them. Caine ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.**

"**Okay, Diana." She walked over to him, lacing her fingers through his and leaning her head on his shoulder.**

**Together, they walked upstairs, and—too tired for words—fell asleep together.**

Drake knew where Caine was. He wouldn't have guessed it on his own, Drake admitted, but Bug was a moron. He hated the little freak, but he was glad he hadn't killed him.

Yet.

He suspected some of the Coates kids would have gone to Perdido Beach, while the rest would have gone with Caine. The kids in Perdido Beach weren't important for now.

But this island, that was important.

It wasn't going to be easy. Brittany had been trying to take over lately, and Drake didn't have a lot of energy to spare. She already had once, and Drake had woken up three storeys below his old room, lying in the grass with one hell of a headache. Luckily, her immortality not only saved him, but healed the bullet wounds that had hindered him a couple of hours earlier.

But the couple of hours was concerning.

It appeared to Drake that Brittany was beginning to control how quickly Drake could heal. It wasn't a big deal to him right now—he was accustomed to pain—but it _would_ matter, he knew that much.

Stupid bitch.

He could control her long enough to do what he needed to do. He walked out of Coates, and began walking out towards Trotter's ridge.

It took him a while to reach Clifftop that way, but it was the only way without being spotted. He needed Lana, just in case Brittany decided to fuck him over. Then it was over to the marina—though he hadn't figured out how to get there without being seen—to steal a boat.

But Lana was gone. He checked the rooms around hers twice, just to be sure. Drake fumed.

"Why the fuck isn't anybody where I need them to be?" Everything in her room was covered in a fine layer of dust, indicating that she hadn't been to her room in a while. Drake sighed and sat behind her bed, waiting. But he became impatient, and eventually he had to admit wherever she was, she wasn't planning on coming back any time soon.

Walking out onto the balcony, he looked over Perdido Beach. Town hall, half-gone church… It was all the same as it had been while he was imprisoned. Thinking of which, Drake reminded himself to kill Sam, and that retard Edilio when he got back. He hung his head, looking down below.

No.

No way.

That was _way_ too perfect.

Drake rubbed his eyes and looked again, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Fuck Lana. Fuck the marina.

Drake had a helicopter.


	11. Struggle

_**A/N: It's two in the morning, and I'm going to try and write. Good luck, me (says me). Please review. It's the only way I can rate how good my writing is at two am. Alright, buckle your seatbelts, kiddies. Edit: Not bad. Not great, but not bad. It's almost 3 now. This is what happens when the people next door to your room smoke pot, and oh, I'm allergic to pot smoke. . JOY.**_

"Sam!" Taylor screamed, bouncing into the office. At this point, Sam thought, he would never sleep again. While drooling on his desk didn't seem like much, it was the closest thing he'd had in a while. But he put his self-pity on the back burner when he heard the urgency in Taylor's voice.

"What is it?" he asked, almost sounding bored.

"Drake's stealing the helicopter. Like, _now_!" Well it certainly wasn't what Sam had expected to hear, but to be honest, it made sense. Caine and Diana had fled somewhere in a boat, and a helicopter was a pretty good way to find them.

"Who's with him?"

"Nobody. Dekka and Brianna are down there right now, and Edilio ran off to look for more help. But Sam, we can't fight them alone. Get there as fast as you can, I'm going to look for… I don't know, Hunter or something." Sam went to ask another question, but he sighed when he saw nothing but air.

Time to be the boss again.

The cliff near the FAYZ wall was in chaos as Sam approached it. Some kids were standing at a semi-safe distance, throwing sticks, rocks and bottles at Drake. Dekka, Brianna, and Edilio were in the middle of the mess, trying to stop Drake from boarding the helicopter. Sam saw Brianna look in his direction, Drake taking advantage of the momentary distraction.

Drake whipped Brianna across the torso, throwing her on the ground. He bent over her, grabbing her neck with his one good hand. He whispered something in Brianna's ear, which caused her to writhe on the ground, trying to curl over and protect the open wound on her stomach. Sam saw Dekka panic, run over to Drake, and kick him square in the chin.

Whether or not it hurt him, Sam didn't know, but it sent him flying backward. The entire mess had only taken a few seconds, and Sam was now only about twenty feet from Drake. He called out to Brianna, ignoring the knot he felt welling up in his throat. Drake stood up and turned toward him.

"Hey, Sam!" he called. "Coming back for more?" He cracked his whip and Sam cringed, visibly. Edilio turned to Sam, just for a second.

"Sam, dude we need-" but Drake had his whip around Edilio's neck.

He was trying to kill him.

"Come on, Sammy, this doesn't concern you!" Drake yelled, waving Edilio in his direction.

"Then put him down!" Sam was standing poised, palms outward, ready to kill.

This definitely counted as an emergency.

"If I drop him, I leave with the chopper. Alone!" Drake was already boarding the helicopter, Edilio still struggling against him. Sam didn't care about the helicopter, really. And it wasn't worth losing Edilio.

"Fine! Fine Drake! Everybody back off!" Everybody, especially Dekka, threw him a sceptical look, but he didn't have time for that.

"_Now_!"

Gravity returned, Orc stood back, and Edilio hit the ground.

Alive.

**Lil and Brianna had been sitting in the living room eating supper when a girl Lil had never seen before appeared in the middle of the room. Lil knew about Brianna's "power," but she was still getting used to the idea of mutant teenagers. The girl looked afraid. **

"**Brianna, it's Drake. We need to go **_**now**_**." Brianna turned to Lil.**

"**I'll be back." **

**And all of Lil's protests and cries had been directed at the empty chair opposite her.**

**Of course she knew who Drake was. She knew too well. And she knew he was the **_**last **_**person she wanted around her little sister. She had gone into the street looking for her, but of course she was gone.**

**It was time for Lillian to make a decision. Her impulsive, illogical self was screaming at her to go find Brianna.**

**But Lil didn't want to listen to that voice anymore.**

**As much as it killed her. **

**As much as she hated it.**

**She would sit in Brianna's living room and wait.**

**Patiently.**

**Dekka ran out the door seconds after Brianna did, but Lil stayed where she was.**

**For once, her logical side was going to win.**

**Brianna did come back, but not in the same condition she left in. She had a six inch gash on her stomach, and it was bleeding. Not enough to kill her, but enough that Lil screamed as soon as she saw her.**

"**Bri, oh my God, what happened?"**

"**Drake hit me." Brianna growled through clenched teeth. Her eyes were closed, and she was bent over on the couch while multiple people gathered around her. They were throwing ointments and rags and other mediocre medical supplies around, yelling commands at each other. Lil wished she could help, but she hadn't taken any health classes since she was 14. Instead she backed away, and when everyone had finally left her, she sat next to her sister, putting her arm around her and letting her rest her head on her shoulder. **

"**Bri… we have to leave this place." Brianna's only response was a small groan.**

"**We can't, Lil. I'm nowhere near 15, and neither are you." She clutched her stomach, and Lil realized that talking must hurt.**

"**I don't mean the FAYZ, Bri. I've accepted that I'm pretty much stuck here for the time being. But we could go somewhere else. I passed a house near the other side of the wall. Slept there, too. It has a ton of food. And it's practically untouched. We could live there, and get the hell away from all of these freaks."**

**Brianna pulled away from her, her face burning red.**

"**I don't know if you've realized it, but I'm one of those freaks!" Lil blushed. She hadn't meant it like that.**

"**I just meant this craziness. We could get away from it." Brianna shook her head hard, then leaned it on the couch, groaning again.**

"**That would be great. It really would. But I can't leave these people. I care about them… a lot. Plus, I pretty much run the Daycare now. I can't leave."**

**Lil began to shake. She couldn't deal with all of this. The war, the threat of starvation, the constant attacks and psychic powers and…**

"**Bri! Be reasonable! This isn't how people were supposed to live! You need to come with me, now!" Brianna stood up this time, still clutching her torso. She backed away from Lil slowly, almost fearfully.**

"**You're different than I remembered you."**

"**Bri, I-"**

"**You're weaker."**

**And she was gone.**

"Do you hear that?" Caine bolted out of bed, and ran to the window.

"I hear you disrupting my sleep," Diana groaned, pulling the blankets over her head. She was getting tired of Caine's paranoia.

"Shut up! Listen." Caine cupped his hand over his ear, and Diana grudgingly got out of bed to join him. She could hear it now. It sounded almost like a hummingbird was flapping its wings right up against her, a million tiny beats drumming around her ear.

"What is it?" She said dreamily. She was still rubbing sleep out of her eyes when she felt Caine go rigid.

"It's a helicopter."


	12. Plunge

Caine and Diana were standing in front of their house, watching the helicopter approaching the island.

"We don't know if-"

"It's him, Diana!" Caine snapped, balling his hands into fists. Diana's heart sank. She didn't want to die, and she definitely didn't want to die at the hand of something like Drake.

"Knock him out of the sky, then." Her nonchalant exposure cracked, her voice hinting at alarm. Caine shook his head.

"I can't, you know that. He's too far. He's not just going to fucking land in the front yard. He knows better." Diana's head was reeling as her brain moved from one plan to the next.

"Can we run to wherever he wants to land? Maybe if we get close enough you can-"Caine turned to her, his eyes full of hate. And although Diana knew it wasn't directed at her, it still shook her.

"_We_ aren't going anywhere. You are going to go hide in the woods, and wait for me to kill Drake. I am going to see if I can kick his smug ass into the ocean." Diana didn't want that. She wanted to stay with him.

But Diana Ladris knew her need for self preservation would outweigh her need to be with Caine. It was something she didn't want to admit, but it was true. She quickly hugged him, but he pushed her away.

"Go!"

Diana climbed halfway up a small tree and waited. She could see Caine, but she was sure he—and Drake—couldn't see her. The helicopter was close now, and she was sure it would only be a minute or so before Caine could attack. Caine's hands were ready, raised at shoulder level, his deadly palms extended towards Drake. Diana prayed.

She knew what to do if Drake won. After all, the tree she was sitting in was only a few feet from the cliff.

For a reason.

Her eyes watered; she was afraid to blink. Her eyes were locked on Caine, and the helicopter. Diana wondered for a moment how the hell Drake knew how to fly a helicopter. Probably just some stupid flight simulation game. He wasn't flying it _well_ after all. He was hardly able to keep the thing up in the air.

_No!_

Caine had fallen backwards, hitting the ground with massive force. She could see a shape—Drake's whip—peering out through one of the doors.

He had a gun.

Diana fell out of the tree without thinking, and went sprinting for Caine. She had a plan, but she had forgotten what it was, blindly tearing through tree and brush to get to him. It took until she was almost to Caine to realize that he hadn't been hit—he had simply been dodging Drake's first shots. Now she was exposed, and saw a look of horror, hatred and determination flash through Drake's face as he saw her.

Of course, Diana thought, he thinks I'm dead.

Caine had already recovered, and raised his hands in the air. The helicopter rolled, leaving Drake hanging on to the beast by his whip hand. He was no longer over the ocean, so he let go, plummeting an inhuman distance onto the island. Diana let out a small cheer as she heard Drake's body crunch upon impact. But, Diana saw, he was on his feet within seconds, pulling a gun from his belt.

Impossible.

There was no way—no explanation—for what Drake had just done.

Could Caine even kill him?

He pointed his gun at Diana, firing twice. She screamed and hit the ground as the world seemed to explode around her. She heard another crunch, and saw that Caine had thrown him into the air, hitting the ground this time with far more force than gravity could achieve. He was lying in a pool of blood, but he stood up, though this time it seemed to take him longer.

"You can't kill me, Caine!" He raised his head and laughed as Caine lifted him into the air again. "Go for it! I won't feel a thing!" He pointed his gun and fired, missing Caine by barely an inch.

Diana could see the concentration and the pure rage on Caine's face as he flung Drake as far as he could. She heard another, smaller crash as Drake hit the ground, somewhere within the confines of the woods. This time, Drake must have felt something, because he began screaming ferociously. Caine looked to Diana with frightened eyes, and grabbed her hand.

"Where are we going?" Diana was failing to catch up with him. She wondered why he wasn't just carrying them.

Then she saw the cliff.

She began trying to pull away from him, but he refused to let go. She began to cry, not wanting it to end like this.

"Caine…" She begged, "Please don't do this." She made one last attempt at escaping, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him.

"Shut up."

Diana barely had time to scream before they hit the water.

_**A/N: I know this chapter is impossibly short, but I wanted it to end like this. **____** You can all hate me plenty later. Next chapter will be either tonight or tomorrow, seeing as I seem to write inhumanly fast. Review, please. **___


	13. Luck

Drake saw Caine and Diana darting towards the cliff, and chased after them. He still couldn't believe Diana was alive. He had _killed_ her! He had seen her fall, heard the satisfying crack as her head made contact with rock, and felt the pleasure well up within him purely from thinking about it.

But there she was, fleeing with Caine. It didn't seem like Caine to flee, but then again, Drake was immortal. Caine could do nothing to him. The last crash had hurt, but only for an instant, and Caine didn't look ready to fight much more as he ran off.

But he paused.

Caine wasn't just running from Drake, he was jumping. Drake watched with pleasure as Diana tried to break away from him, and smiled when he saw Caine grab on to her as they tumbled over the edge.

Drake had to see this.

He ran over to the edge and searched for the blood-stained rocks, the pieces of flesh tossing against the surf, but there was nothing there. He squinted down at a small disturbance in the water, and saw Caine and Diana emerge. They were swimming, if it could be called that. Caine was trying to pull both him and Diana toward the mainland, but it wasn't going well. Drake pulled out his gun and shot the remaining five rounds in their direction, but it didn't look like any had hit.

Fuck.

Sure, there was the possibility that Caine would run out of energy—he looked like he was about to—and that he and his little dog would both drown. But Drake didn't want to rely on that. He whipped the tree next to him and cursed under his breath. He had fucked up, royally. He had fucked up with the kids at Coates, hadn't killed Edilio, and now he had let Caine and Diana get away.

He screamed, but it didn't help.

He walked over to his helicopter and cursed again. It seemed in good condition from the crash, but two of the rotor blades were bent, and one had snapped altogether.

So great, he thought, I'm trapped too.

Figuring he might as well explore, Drake walked until he reached the house. He had to admit, it was pretty impressive, and Drake could imagine why Caine and Diana would have been happy here.

Well, now they were drowning. And Drake had their house.

He walked casually through the rooms, breaking things at random. He was still angry, but at least he had somewhere decent to stay. He walked into the basement—the only part of the house he hadn't yet explored—and began opening doors. One of them was locked, though he wasn't sure why. He rammed himself up against it, and heard a sharp intake of breath on the other side.

Drake paused.

"Who's in there?" His eyes narrowed as he whipped the door. Someone inside got up out of a chair, but did not answer.

"I asked who the fuck is in there!" He kicked the door, and the bottom hinge broke. From there he was able to push the door off of its last hinge. He laughed quietly, finally happy for _someone_ to kill.

He stopped for a moment as his vision became engulfed by thousands of spiked, black bats with bright yellow eyes, a thick red liquid pumping from their mouths.

"Well hello there, Penny."

**Quinn was out fishing when he saw a strange shape on the horizon. It looked like a large, oblong rock skipping across the ocean. One minute it would be out of the water, gliding along the surface, and the next it would be underwater again.**

** After almost a year in the FAYZ, Quinn knew that unnatural things were best left alone. But curiosity was human nature, so he drove the boat a smidgeon closer, just to see what he was dealing with.**

**But it wasn't a what.**

**It was a **_**who**_**.**

** Two people were stuck out there, floating and sinking. They were moving toward the mainland, but very slowly. How they were moving at all, Quinn wasn't sure, but he had learned not to ask questions a long time ago. He sped over to them, slowing down as he got closer—not wanting to run them over. One person—a girl—reached her hand out in Quinn's direction, but it was quickly lost as they fell underwater again.**

** It was cold, but Quinn was far too used to it by that point. He dived off of the boat, opening his eyes despite the burn of saltwater. He couldn't see who the kids were, just that they were around his age. They were holding on to each other tightly, but they were sinking. Quinn tried to wrench the girl up toward the surface, but he soon found himself several feet above them, pulled upward by some paranormal force.**

** He tried again, this time wrapping his hand around the girl's shirt. He felt himself being pushed back toward the surface, but Quinn's grip on the girl was too strong. Instead, all three of them were pushed upward, giving Quinn the kick he needed to pull all of them to the surface. He pulled them over to the boat's ladder, and was still rubbing saltwater out of his eyes when he finally climbed onboard.**

"**I could have easily done that myself, idiot."**

Caine and Sam were sitting in the office. Alone. That was part of the deal. Just about everybody in Perdido Beach was angry that Caine and Diana were here, but Sam still had a conscience.

"Caine, you can't stay here. People would riot." Caine scoffed and looked at Sam sceptically.

"Like they aren't already?" He had a point. The Human Crew had been kept mostly under control by Edilio's men, but since Nick's death they had been hesitant to return to work. "Listen, we have a common enemy now. No matter where I go, Drake is going to find some way to follow me. And don't think for a second that once we're dead, he's not going to make a beeline for you, Sam."

Another good point.

"Well," Sam began, "_if_ you two are going to stay here, there are going to be some massive compromises." Caine and Diana had been a mess when they arrived, half-dead and exhausted. Sam had given them a bed to sleep in for the night, which had given him plenty of time to figure out what to do. Caine rolled his eyes, but nodded.

"Yeah, we know. Lay it on the table. You tell me what you need from us, and we'll tell you what we need from you." Sam sighed. He didn't want this to be a big deal.

"Okay. One: you and Diana live on the outskirts of town. There is already one boy—Hunter—living out there. You will live near him."

Caine scowled, but nodded.

"Two: If… Well, _when _Drake comes back, you fight alongside everyone else in Perdido Beach."

Another nod. Sam guessed Caine had already figured out that one.

"And three," Sam began, knowing Caine would hate this rule, "You have to abide by the same laws as everyone else in Perdido Beach, and that includes receiving any punishments from breaking those rules." Caine's eyes narrowed.

"That's bullshit."

"I don't care what you want to call it, Caine. Those are the rules." Sam could see the intense inner battle going on in Caine's mind. Finally, he caved, though not completely.

"Fine…" he began, "But, in return, I get to be on your little council thing. I get to be as much a part of it as any other member, and I receive the same amount of power that goes along with it."

Sam thought about this for a moment. As the only other four bar, it was a reasonable request. It would also give Sam another freak on the council, helping to pass any votes that promoted freak-normal relationships. Sam nodded.

"Okay, done. And in return for all of that, you and Diana will get some a little bit of money, some food, and a golf cart. But I swear to God, Caine, you're already on thin ice. People here don't forgive or forget, and in your case, I doubt they ever will."

Caine nodded solemnly, rubbing his temples. "Alright. I guess that will work for now."

Sam stood up, leaving to go tell the rest of the council the agreement. Caine stayed on the couch, still deep in thought.

"Caine." Sam said. Caine lifted his head slowly.

"I'm glad you and Diana are okay."


	14. Darkness

_**AN: Okay, first of all. It has come to my attention that Microsoft Word has been taking away my smiley faces, making me look like a massive bitch. So, sorry… and stuff. Also, thank you to SaneLunatic, Unlucky World Shaker, Luckycharms92 and Winston Stole my Name for reviewing. You guys legitimately make my day (Sad, huh?). :P Anyway, I just wanted to let everyone know that this will be the last chapter in this fanfiction, HOWEVER!i()!11! I am already planning a sequel kind of, so don't worry. It won't be GONE forever (HA!). xD**_

Brianna was sitting cross legged on the middle of her bed, thinking. She had been dreading this, but she needed to talk to Dekka. Her cast had been taken off the day before the helicopter fight, but Brianna hadn't had the heart to tell her to leave. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted her to leave.

But she also had to think about Lil. Her sister hadn't really spoken to Brianna since their fight, silently cleaning, cooking and helping around the house. Brianna still thought it was incredibly surreal having Lil with her again, but the FAYZ had taught her to count her blessings.

Downstairs, she heard someone walk in. If it's Dekka, Brianna thought, she would talk to Dekka first. If it's Lil, she would talk to her. She could tell by the slight limp that it was Dekka.

Fine, if that's how it had to be.

"Dekka?" Dekka looked to Brianna, her expression going from distaste, to hurt, to defeat. "Can I talk to you?" Dekka nodded, and motioned for Brianna to sit down in the living room.

"I'm guessing you want to talk, huh?" Brianna nodded. "Well, go ahead and say it." She cringed a little bit at Dekka's words. She hadn't expected this level of hostility from her.

"Okay, I guess. Dekka, you're seriously my best friend. Whether the FAYZ stays or not. I know that you…" Brianna hung her head. It was like she didn't know how to phrase anything anymore. But she continued nonetheless. "I know that you maybe don't think of me like that. But I want you to know that I do really like you. Maybe not in the same way… Not now anyway, maybe not ever. But if you maybe wanted to stay here… longer. Like-"

"Like move in?" Dekka's eyes looked hard, as if she was trying to stop them from watering. Brianna nodded, and Dekka laughed slightly. "Yeah, that would actually be great." She still looked hurt, but it wasn't anywhere near the breakdown Brianna had been expecting.

"And I still want you to feel like you can tell me anything, okay?" Dekka nodded, and did something she had never done before—she got up and hugged Brianna. She felt uncertain at first, but Dekka was her best friend. She returned the hug, and felt Dekka trembling.

"Are we good?" Dekka let out a shaky laugh and nodded.

"Yeah, we're good."

"**So this is it, isn't it?" Caine was lounging in one of the chairs in his new living room. He was sulking, Diana could tell that much. He scoffed, glaring at her.**

"**For now." He said seriously. Diana laughed, curling her hair behind her ear.**

"**Oh don't tell me you've got another plan. Haven't you plotted enough for one lifetime?" Caine was angry. He had hated the deal Sam had given him, but with him and Diana near the point of death, they hadn't had a choice. Now they were living next door to a three bar mental kid.**

"**I said, for now," he snapped, stomping upstairs to their bedroom. Diana considered following him, but she decided against it. She heard a knock at the door, and carefully looked through the window. It was just Sam checking up on them, so she unlocked the door.**

"**Feeling the need for another check-up?" She said, too tired to sound overly cold. Sam nodded, ashamed by his own lack of trust.**

"**Yeah," he said, "I just wanted to make sure you were, uh, settling in alright." Diana tossed her hair over her shoulder and gave Sam a cold stare.**

"**Don't worry Sam. We won't kill everyone. Well, I won't. I can't say the same about your baby brother." She smiled with the same ice cold presence as before. Sam rolled his eyes, looking too tired to care.**

"**I wish the two of you would cut this out. Right now, I need Caine, and he needs us. Can't you guys just accept that and move on?"**

Sam looked at Diana, and although he saw a flicker of something cross her face, her composure remained intact.

"Like I said, Sammy. It's not me you have to worry about."

Sam knew it was a weak alliance, but for the first time since birth, he and Caine were on the same team, and Sam knew that was at least _something_.

But he also knew that it was also a matter of time until the Human Crew found out. Sam suspected they already knew. And as much as Sam hated to admit it, he secretly hoped Caine _would_ carry out some form of vigilante justice on them.

He made a mental note to make sure Caine got a very small punishment, should that be the case.

But for the time being, Sam had almost everything under control. He walked home, where Astrid was trying to persuade Little Pete to play with some blocks. Without thinking, he pulled her up off of the floor and hugged her.

He wasn't sure how long the two of them stood there like that. Little Pete, as usual, didn't seem aware of their existence. And as far as Sam and Astrid were concerned, the rest of the world didn't exist either.

When he finally broke away from her, he saw that Astrid's eyes were watering.

"I, uhm, I'm going to try and get Little Pete to-"

Sam didn't hear her. Instead, he walked upstairs, opened the door to his bedroom.

And slept.

** Brianna saw Lil approaching the Daycare at a painfully normal pace. She nodded to John, who had returned to the daycare part time.**

"**Lil!" Brianna said, popping up in front of her. Lil looked confused for a moment, then blinked hard, her expression returning to normal.**

"**Hey, don't blame me," Brianna said, winking. "After all, I am the **_**Breeze**_**." She ran around Lil several times, causing her to look even more confused.**

"**Bri, I need to talk to you. Seriously." Brianna stopped, and felt a pang of guilt. She didn't like seeming like the immature one. **

"**Yeah, sure Lil." Brianna felt uneasy having the conversation in public. It made her stomach churn. But Lil didn't seem to mind.**

"**After seeing you all messed up, I kind of freaked out, I know. But I went to go talk to Astrid to, you know, see what she thought." Brianna rolled her eyes. She wasn't a huge fan of Astrid the Genius, and was kind of annoyed that Lil had gone to her for advice.**

"**Well, what did she say?" Brianna said, hoping that Lil would catch the hint of annoyance in her voice.**

"**Well I never really made it that far. I saw the… cemetery in the plaza. It's horrible there, Bri. I guess I realized that if you and everybody else weren't here… the cemetery would be a lot bigger." Brianna nodded solemnly. While her power wasn't exactly a weapon, she couldn't deny it was useful.**

"**So, where do we go from here?" Lil smiled uncertainly.**

"**Well, I've already talked to John. We're gonna move into a place near the edge of town. I figured people have enough to worry about without seeing a… kind-of-adult around."**

"**Oh," Brianna said, disappointed. "So I guess I won't be seeing a lot of you, huh?" Lil laughed.**

"**Of course you will. I have to help you out at the Daycare after all. I have like a million years of experience with babysitting. And if you ever want to come visit, I hardly think distance will be an issue for you." Brianna felt better knowing Lil would be there to help. She smiled, and wrapped her arm around her big sister.**

"**Well if you're going to start helping, it might as well be now." Lil shrugged, following her sister towards her new job.**

"**First things first, do **_**not**_** let the kids get into the hardware store. Trust me."**

Drake sat on a lounge chair on his island, enjoying the warm weather. Penny came out to join him, passing him a cold glass of water and sitting across from him, waiting for her next instruction. Drake had quickly realized that Penny's infatuation for Caine had nothing to do with him. Penny was naturally submissive, and would fall for anyone who had power.

And Drake was about to have a hell of a lot of power.

_**Another Note: Thank you to everyone who has supported me though this process. This is officially the end of my first complete fanfiction, and I can't wait to begin working on the sequel (over the next week or so). Thank you again, you guys know you all rock.**_


	15. Sequel

**Attention all people who enjoyed "Two Second Difference"** (Which, I have realized, was a terrible name.) Originally, I had planned to focus on Lil, but then I wanted Drake involved, and I didn't want it to be a Drake/OC fic, blah blah blah.

Anyway, I am opening my blank Word document immediately upon posting this, and will be starting the sequel. I was planning on taking a few days off, but honestly I couldn't.

I even went to Chapters to try and buy another book to keep me occupied, and all I could do was stare at the GONE section and whimper.

It's pathetic, I know.

**ANYFAYZ**, (And I'm sorry to Luckycharms92, who already saw that pun :P)

I don't know the name of the sequel yet. I'm not going to force you to subscribe to me, but it would probably be the easiest way to find out when it is posted. xD ALL I WILL TELL YOU IS: A lot of it will revolve around Drake and Penny (duh), the Human Crew, Hunter, Caine and Diana, Lil and John, and MAYBEMAYBEMAYBE Orsay. I really want to put some Orc and Howard in there, and maybe Albert, but I don't know how realistic that is at the moment. Oh wait, I just thought of how to get Orc in there. So disregard that.

So, in about an hour, the first chapter (which won't be terribly long, like 1000 words) will be posted.

Goodnight, and I hope you enjoy the sequel!


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